Football

Juventus have suffered a fresh injury blow as Andrea Pirlo has revealed Cristiano Ronaldo will not be in the squad for their Serie A clash with Atalanta on Sunday. The Juventus head coach claimed Cristiano Ronaldo picked up a thigh flexor problem in the 3-1 win over Genoa last time out and had been unable to train normally since then. In a bid to avoid the injury from becoming severe, Juventus have now opted to play safe by resting the 36-year-old superstar. Speaking in a pre-game interview, Pirlo

DOHA: Qatar is in talks with coronavirus vaccine makers to ensure all fans attending the 2022 World Cup in the country have been vaccinated, the foreign minister said Friday (Apr 16). The Gulf nation is facing a resurgence of virus cases and deaths despite progress in its mass vaccination programme, forcing authorities to impose a nationwide lockdown. "We have been negotiating and talking to the vaccination providers on how we can make sure that everyone attending the World Cup is vaccinated," Foreign Minister

LONDON: Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says giving up on the Premier League title is "not in our DNA" even though their pursuit of runaway leaders Manchester City appears hopeless. United head into Sunday's home game against struggling Burnley second in the table, 11 points behind City but with a game in hand. The Norwegian believes his side are on the right track but admits adding to their 20 league titles is unlikely. "Of course we'll never give up," Solskjaer said after

Police Scotland are seeking to prosecute Slavia Prague defender Ondrej Kudela for racially abusing Glen Kamara in a Europa League match last month, the Rangers midfielder’s lawyer said on Thursday. Kamara complained of being racially abused by Kudela during the second-leg of a last-16 tie where Rangers were eliminated and Europe’s soccer governing body UEFA on Wednesday banned the Czech defender for 10 games. “Today Police Scotland confirmed that a case against Ondrej Kudela was submitted to the Procurator Fiscal for consideration, relating

SINGAPORE: Delwinder Singh is more used to crunching tackles than crunching the numbers but he is well aware of the figure in question. That was the number of days since Tanjong Pagar United’s last win in Singapore’s professional football league. And while the numbers don’t lie, sometimes they don’t tell the entire truth, said Delwinder, a defender for the Jaguars. After all, the team had sat out the competition for five seasons since their last win in 2014. They’d then gone winless through

LIVERPOOL: Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane moved clear at the top of this season's Premier League scoring charts but his two goals were only good enough for a 2-2 draw away to Everton on Friday (Apr 16). The England captain opened the scoring in the 27th minute with his 20th league goal of the campaign but former Spurs player Gylfi Sigurdsson levelled from the penalty spot. But Kane punished a defensive mistake six minutes later to earn his side a draw. Worryingly for seventh-placed

MADRID: Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman has reiterated that he is not worried about his future ahead of Saturday's (Apr 17) Copa del Rey final meeting with Athletic Bilbao. The Copa represents a chance for Barca to end a trophyless run which dates back to the 2018-19 season. After finishing last season without silverware, their hopes of Champions League glory were ended by PSG at the last-16 stage, while their defeat in last weekend's El Clasico means they are third-placed in La Liga heading

MANCHESTER, England: Manchester United reached the Europa League semi-finals after Edinson Cavani's early strike and a Jesus Vallejo own goal secured a 2-0 home win over Granada on Thursday (Apr 15) and completed a 4-0 aggregate rout of the Spanish side. United will face AS Roma for a place in the May 26 final in Gdansk after the Italian side ground out a 3-2 aggregate win over Ajax Amsterdam with a 1-1 home draw in the second leg of their quarter-final. Cavani netted

PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain were revelling in the joy of knocking holders Bayern Munich out of the Champions League in midweek when Neymar offered more cause for celebration. In an interview with Brazilian broadcaster TNT Sports following PSG's away-goals victory in the quarter-finals, Neymar dropped a clear hint that he would be staying at PSG beyond the end of his current contract. "For me there is no debate, it is obvious that I feel very comfortable here and at home at Paris Saint-Germain. I

ROME: AS Roma advanced to the Europa League semi-finals with a 3-2 aggregate win over Ajax Amsterdam after Edin Dzeko’s late equaliser secured a 1-1 home draw on Thursday (Apr 15). The Italian side will now face Manchester United, who beat Granada 2-0 on the night and 4-0 on aggregate in their quarter-final second leg, for a place in next month's final. Brian Brobbey struck for Ajax four minutes after his halftime introduction but Dzeko’s 72nd minute finish levelled the scores in the

Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been treated in hospital after he contracted malaria while on international duty with Gabon. The 31-year-old scored in Gabon's 3-0 win over DR Congo in Africa Cup of Nations qualification on 25 March. He played in Arsenal's Europa League quarter-final first leg against Slavia Prague on 8 April but missed Sunday's win over Sheffield United. "I've spent a few days in hospital this week," he said on Instagram. "I'm already feeling much better every day, thanks to the

DORTMUND, Germany - Manchester City scored twice in the second half through Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden to beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 on Wednesday and reach the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in six years. Foden, who scored the winner in their 2-1 first-leg victory, fired in off the post in the 76th minute after Mahrez had converted a 55th-minute penalty to secure a 4-2 aggregate triumph and send City into the last four for the second time. “It means a

ROME - Rome’s Stadio Olimpico was confirmed as a Euro 2020 host venue on Wednesday after the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) told UEFA that fans would be allowed to attend matches. “The authorities have guaranteed at least 25% of the stadium’s capacity will be filled. As a result, UEFA considers Rome to be fully confirmed as a venue for the tournament,” read a statement from European soccer’s governing body. A FIGC statement on Tuesday said that at least 25% of the 72,698-seater Olimpico

Liverpool's Champions League campaign ended in disappointment as Real Madrid set up a semi-final meeting with Chelsea by keeping Jurgen Klopp's side at bay in a goalless draw at Anfield. Real arrived at Anfield protecting a 3-1 lead from the first leg and while they eventually went through in relative comfort Liverpool will curse themselves for missing several glorious first-half chances. Mohamed Salah shot straight at Real keeper Thibaut Courtois, who also saved well from James Milner, in the opening moments and shot

LIVERPOOL: Liverpool can mount another memorable Champions League comeback at Anfield when they take on a depleted Real Madrid in the quarter-final, second leg but they cannot afford any more defensive errors, manager Juergen Klopp said on Tuesday (Apr 13). Down 3-1 from the first leg, Klopp's side find themselves in a near-impossible situation in the knockouts again and will seek inspiration from their 2019 semi-final comeback against Barcelona when they 4-0 to advance with a 4-3 aggregate score. With their backs against

Spain and Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos faced a new setback in a season littered with injury problems when his club said on Tuesday he had tested positive for COVID-19. Ramos has been nursing a calf injury since April 1 which led him to miss his side’s 3-1 win over Liverpool in their Champions League quarter-final first leg and Saturday’s 2-1 victory over rivals Barcelona in La Liga. The central defender, 35, who underwent knee surgery in February, had already been ruled out

SEVILLE, Spain -Chelsea hung on to reach the Champions League semi-finals with a 2-1 aggregate win despite Mehdi Taremi’s stunning overhead kick in added time handing Porto a 1-0 victory in the quarter-final second leg on Tuesday. The substitute had been responsible for his side’s only attempt on target as they chased a 2-0 deficit from last week’s first leg but he provided an emphatic response in a cagey game with his acrobatic strike deep into added time. Thomas Tuchel’s side had a

PARIS - Bayern Munich felt the best team did not reach the Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday after they went out on away goals but Paris St Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino reminded them that as well as a beautiful game football was a fight. PSG had struggled in the quarter-final first leg in Munich but won 3-2 thanks to their ruthless efficiency in front of goal and Bayern’s Joshua Kimmich and Thomas Mueller were confident the German champions would go through at the

Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic will miss Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City at Wembley due to a hamstring injury, manager Thomas Tuchel said. Kovacic missed Tuesday’s 1-0 Champions League quarter-final second leg defeat by Porto, though Chelsea still reached the last four 2-1 on aggregate and will face either Real Madrid or Liverpool. “(On Monday) in training he got a muscle injury in his hamstring after 20 minutes, more or less out of nothing,” Tuchel said after Tuesday’s game. “He is for

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel said reaching the last four of the Champions League is a "great achievement" as the Blues moved into the semi-finals for the first time since 2014. Chelsea will play either Liverpool or Real Madrid for a place in the final after a 2-1 aggregate win over Porto. "We will become a strong side," he told BT Sport after his team lost the second leg 1-0 in injury time. "We could not finish it off with a goal so we